Have you noticed the thousands of websites now advertising wicker furniture for your outdoor patio? When I first went into the furniture business in 1999 there was one category that "Wicker furniture" belonged to. It was in the all-natural category of furniture being hand-woven from the strips of natural Rattan or Cane. This all-natural Wicker furniture was built and intended to be used inside the home as it would mold, fade, and eventually rot when placed outdoors in the elements. Wicker remained an indoor natural product until just a few years ago when it was re-branded as outdoor patio furniture. Manufacturers and retailers are now marketing Wicker as an all-weather product woven from man-made synthetic resin fibers. There are two very important factors that caused this re-branding and change of category for Wicker furniture. First, there is a supply issue with naturally growing Rattan in southeast Asia. The only country with sustainable large commercial tracts of Rattan is Indonesia. That means that manufacturers in countries like China and the Philippines must import the natural product before they can manufacture it into furniture. This lack of availability greatly limits how much manufacturing can be achieved or sustained because of factors including trade restrictions and price controls. Another reason this re-branding occurred is that manufacturers (especially in China) have access to a never ending supply of man-made synthetics. But they had a marketing problem. Most people (including myself)do not imagine synthetic man-made resin as a very desirable furniture. On the other hand Wicker furniture is an American tradition and is always thought of as unique and beautiful. So, what these manufacturers and industry leaders here did was re-brand outdoor synthetically woven furniture as "Wicker furniture". And like it or not is has been an unbelievable success with thousands of companies now advertising Wicker furniture for your patio or garden.